Three Moons
by Lady Nightweaver
Summary: Lady Elnora Nightweaver's peaceful life is disturbed when she receives a letter from Three Moons, the same organization that ordered the death of her parents and brother. Her beloved butler, Sebastian, is willing to help her uncover the truth about Three Moons, but what will he do if Elnora becomes their next target?
1. Prologue

_Get up,_ I ordered my five-year-old self. _You've got to get up. _I wanted to get up. I wanted to find out where those men took Mama and Papa and Henry. I wanted to know why they made our carriage veer off the bridge and into the ravine.

The carriage had landed on its side, with one door on the ground and the other up above me. I tried to get up from where I had landed on the bottom door, but it was impossible. Every time I tried, the body part I moved would scream with pain.

I heard voices outside. There were the men's voices, loud and angry. There were my parents' voices, sharp and scathing in response. Then there was Henry's voice, begging and pleading, "Don't hurt Elnora! Please, spare my sister!"

"Elnora? Who's he talking about?" asked one of the men.

I heard lumbering footsteps coming near, and the door above me was thrown open. I saw a dark figure silhouetted against the dusky sky. I could not make out his face. "There's another kid down here. I don't remember them at Three Moons telling us about this one."

Another silhouette appeared net to the first one. "That's because they didn't," he said. "She probably isn't important."

"Should we kill her?"

"Why bother? Look at how beat up she is. She won't last the night. And besides, no one will ever find her down here-except maybe the vultures."

I had hoped to wake up in my own bed, because the carriage accident was only a bad dream, but I didn't. Instead I found myself in a narrow bed in a white, sterile room. A hospital.

My entire body felt numb. Both my hands were bandaged, as was the crown of my head. I suspected I had more bandages in other places.

"Well," said a smooth, velvety voice. "It seems you have finally woken up." I turned to where it had come from. At my bedside stood a tall, elegant man with jet-black hair and piercing red eyes.

"Who are you?" I asked him.

"I am whoever you want me to be. I have no name until you give me one."

"I have to name you?" What kind of name would suit him? "Your name will be...Sebastian."

"Very well, then."

"But why are you here? I know I've never seen you before."

"You haven't. I only recently arrived in London, actually. I was sent here by your brother."

"Henry? Why did he send you?"

"I was sent because, as the contract your brother and I have made states, I am to be your faithful servant from this point on. I will protect you, even at the cost of my own life. I will follow your orders, and yours alone, no matter what they may be. Also," Sebastian reached into his jacket and took out something shiny. "He sent this as a gift for you."

It was a necklace: a wide band of silver set with a heart-shaped ruby in the center. The ruby was incredibly shiny. It glittered and glowed with an unnatural radiance. Sebastian reached over and fastened the clasp around my neck.

"But where is Henry?" I demanded. "Why can't I see him?"

At that moment, the door to my hospital room flew open, and a frazzled-looking doctor hurried in. "Are you Elnora Nightweaver?" he asked. I nodded. "And who is this?" He looked questioningly in Sebastian's direction.

"This is Sebastian. He is my...um...butler."

"At any rate," the doctor continued. "Do you remember why you are here?"

"I was in a carriage accident, wasn't I?"

"Yes. The carriage you were in fell off a bridge and into a ravine. It was a very severe accident. Your injuries are very serious, but you are extremely lucky to be alive. Your parents and brother, however, were not so fortunate."


	2. Chapter 1

Nearly eight years had passed since I left home together with my family for the last time, but Nightweaver Manor had hardly changed at all. The sun rose on the same sprawling front garden and lit up the brass lion's head-shaped knocker on the front door. It crept into the parlor, which looked almost exactly the same as it had when we left it to go for a carriage ride.

Only the mantelpiece showed how much had changed since then. Eight years ago, there were photographs of a married couple with a handsome young boy and a bright-eyed little girl. The photographs were still there, but they now surrounded a marble urn. A plaque at the base of the urn read _Henry Nightweaver 1874-1889._

Like every other room in the house, this one held no sign of its most indispensable resident. At this time of day, eight a.m. precisely, he could be found pouring his young mistress her cup of morning tea.

"Are we having any company today, Sebastian?" I asked, sipping my tea.

"Yes, Young Mistress," replied the black-clad butler. "Master Silas with be paying us a visit."

"Will he, now? All right. Sebastian, is this tea Earl Grey?"

"It is, my lady."

"I don't like it."

"Understood, my lady. I'll have the maids bring a new cup." Sebastian exited my bedroom, black coattails trailing behind him. After he had gone, I flopped face down on the bed and groaned. I was most definitely not looking forward to a visit from my fiancée, Silas Hughes.

Just then, two maids came bustling in, one with a new cup of tea ( that wasn't Earl Grey). The maids, identical twins, were named May and April. I had told them many times that I only needed one of them to help me get dressed, but they were insistent that they both do it. They did everything in a pair, and seldom finished a sentence independent of each other.

May and April helped me out of my nightgown and into the dress I would wear that day.

"So many buttons!" April- or was it May?- griped.

"Heaven help us when-" May-or was it April?- continued.

"You start wearing a corset," the other finished.

They finished doing up the long row of buttons on the back of the dress and fastened my necklace around my neck. The heart-shaped ruby continued to shine just as brightly as the day I received it. I smiled at its reflection in the mirror. I'd never polished it once.

At the breakfast table, Silas was already sitting there waiting for me. I shuddered inwardly as I sat down. Silas Hughes and I had been engaged since birth. As is typical in an arranged marriage, I didn't particularly care for him. It had been that way ever since I caught him plucking feathers from my canary when we were six.

"Good morning, Elly!" he said brightly. I hated being called Elly, but I didn't tell him that. He wouldn't listen.

"Good morning, Silas," I replied as cheerfully as I could. "I wasn't expecting you this early."

"I know, but I wanted to see you. I wouldn't let anything, even time, get in the way of that."

_And we aren't even married yet, _I thought a bit glumly.

Charles Wallace, a sleek black cat with glowing green eyes, hopped up into my lap. Sebastian, rather contrary to his love of other cats, seemed to despise Charles Wallace. And Charles Wallace seemed to feel exactly the same way about Sebastian.

The doors to the dining room flew open, and I looked up expectantly. Sebastian came in pushing a cart laden with food. "Your breakfast is served, Young Mistress, Master Silas," he said cordially, beginning to serve the food. He handed me a tray, upon which sat a stack of letters and a letter opener.

"Thank you, Sebastian," I said politely, giving him a smile. I then turned to the letters and began opening them. There was nothing very interesting, except...

"You know, Elly," Silas said. "This butler of yours is rather creepy. He's so prim and proper that it's eerie. His eyes are such an odd color, almost like blood. And he always has that scary smirk on his face."

Normally, I would have had Sebastian put something foul tasting in Silas's food for that. I didn't tolerate anyone insulting my butler, especially not right in front of him. But I, who rather liked Sebastian's crimson eyes and devious smirk, wasn't listening.

I stared at the letter in my hands. The envelope was made of strange, heavy parchment. The red wax seal bore a strange coat of arms: three crescent moons forming a triangular shape around two letters, T and M. Quickly, I slit the envelope open and took out the letter, which was made of the same heavy parchment. Written in delicate, spidery writing with blood red ink was the following:

_ Dearest Lady Nightweaver, _

_ It has been eight years since our organization last had contact with you, and we cannot claim that it was on the best of terms. However, now that we realize what we can do for you and what you can do for us, we wish to establish good graces. Please, do not be frightened by this letter. You will not come to any harm. However, should you refuse or take action against our organization's earnest efforts, you will not be spared._

_ Yours Most Sincerely, Three Moons_

_Three Moons? _I thought_. I know that name._


End file.
